Key challenges and potential solutions to the current migration crisis were discussed by experts at the Aurora Dialogue in Berlin

ArmInfo.The Aurora Dialogues, "Millions on the Move: Need for Development and
Integration," was held this week on December 4th and 5th in Berlin

A key focus of the conference was global migration and the vast scale
of the issue. There are 65 million people who have fled their home
countries, and another 700 million people worldwide who would
consider migrating if they had the chance. These numbers don't
include the populations typically excluded from the public debate on
migration, such as internally displaced people (IDPs) or the more
than 200 million people living with the threat of displacement due to
climate change and its effects by 2050. "We have to overcome the gap
between perceived emotions and real facts," said Rita Sussmuth,
former president of the German Bundestag. Dr. Ingrid Hamm, founder of
the Global Perspectives Initiative also commented, "We need to adjust
our way of thinking to be far more global. When it comes to topics of
migration and reasons for flight, there remains a huge lack of
information, as well as an increasing need for a stronger dialogue
between Africa and Europe."

Speakers also criticized the EU for the lack of cooperation on the
regional level in tackling the refugee crisis and insufficient action
to establish coordinated processes for handling the issue, arguing
that several key European states are not recognizing the reality and
scale of the situation.

Dialogues participants agreed that clear governance is a basic
prerequisite for success in migration and integration. Rita Sussmuth
noted, "Clearer governance regarding migration is the key to fighting
xenophobia. Germany is missing an official immigration law - this
would increase clarity, ensuring an easier, more coordinated
process."

Experts highlighted the need for improved coordination between public
and private initiatives, with the private sector working as an
accelerator and catalyst for growth, and the public sector overseeing
projects on a larger scale.

Dialogues participants concluded the conversations noting that
immediate action and additional conversations are of the utmost
importance in addressing the longstanding migration crisis.

In accordance with the spirit of the Aurora Prize for Awakening
Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues offer a platform to experts and
engaged personalities striving to find solutions to the most pressing
global challenges. Now in its third year, the Dialogues foster an
intellectual and interdisciplinary exchange to encourage learning
from the past to better inform the decisions of the present, thereby
giving way to a better future.

The Aurora Dialogues Berlin welcomed key figures such as the former
Chair of the Council of the German Protestant Church, Prof. Dr.
Wolfgang Huber; former president of Ireland and UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Mary Robinson; UNICEF's regional director for
Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaere; the German
Chancellor's Personal Representative for Africa, Gunter Nooke; the
Head of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Christof Bosch; and Nobel Prize
laureate Leymah Gbowee, among several others.

The conference, held in the Robert Bosch Stiftung Auditorium in
Berlin, and was organized in partnership by the Aurora Humanitarian
Initiative, Global Perspectives Initiative and Robert Bosch Stiftung,
with the help of Stiftung Mercator.

Founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in
gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks
to empower modern-day saviors to offer life and hope to those in
urgent need of basic humanitarian aid and thus continue the cycle of
giving internationally. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is
Gratitude in Action. It is an eight-year commitment (2015 to 2023, in
remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923) to
support people and promote projects that tackle the needs of the most
helpless and destitute, and do so at great risk. This is achieved
through the Initiative's various programs: The Aurora Prize for
Awakening Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues, the Aurora Humanitarian
Index, the Gratitude Projects and the 100 LIVES Initiative. The
Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is the vision of philanthropists
Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan who have, already
in the second year, been joined by several dozen new donors and
partners. The Initiative welcomes all who embrace a commitment to our
shared humanity.